Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude "Brad" Dourif (/ˈdɔːrᵻf/; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor and voice actor who gained early fame for his portrayal of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which won him a Golden Globe Awardand BAFTA Award, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He portrayed Charles Lee Ray / Chucky (both live-action and voiceover) in the Chucky franchise, Deputy Clinton Pell in''Mississippi Burning'', Younger Brother in Ragtime, Piter De Vries in David Lynch's Dune, Gríma Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings, and Doc Cochran in Deadwood, for which he earned an Emmy Award nomination. Dourif has worked with director Werner Herzog on many occasions, appearing in Scream of Stone, The Wild Blue Yonder, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?. From June to September 2013, he starred in an Off Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play, his first stage appearance in 29 years.1 Contents show Early lifeedit Dourif was born in Huntington, West Virginia, on March 18, 1950, one of six children born to Jean Henri Dourif, an art collector who owned and operated a dye factory, and Joan Mavis Felton (née Bradford), an actress.23 His paternal grandparents emigrated from France, and his paternal grandfather co-founded the Standard Ultramarine and Color Company in Huntington.4 After Dourif's father died in 1953, his mother remarried champion golfer William C. Campbell, who helped raise Dourif and his five siblings (four sisters and one brother). From 1963 to 1965, Dourif attended the private Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina. There, he pursued his interests in art and acting. Although he briefly considered becoming a flower arranger, he was eventually inspired to become an actor by his mother's participation as an actress in a community theater called "Give me Shelter". After Aiken, he attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating in 1968. Dourif attended Marshall University for a time, before quitting college and moving to New York City to study acting on the advice of actress Conchata Ferrell.5 Careeredit Starting in school productions, Dourif progressed to community theater, joining up with the Huntington Community Players while attending Marshall. In New York, he studied with Sanford Meisner, and worked with Marshall Mason and Lanford Wilson at the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at Woodstock, New York, including The Ghost Sonata, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, in which he was spotted by director Miloš Forman5 who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Although One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is frequently cited as his film debut, in fact, Dourif made his first appearance in a low-budget film called Split, which was never released.6 His first studio film was W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) but his bit part was cut. Nevertheless, his portrayal of the vulnerable Billy Bibbit in''Cuckoo's Nest'' was his big break, earning him a Golden Globe Award (Best Actor Debut) and a British Academy Award (Supporting Actor); he was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.5 Skeptical of his instant stardom, Dourif returned to New York, where he continued in theater and taught acting and directing classes at Columbia University until 1988, when he moved to Hollywood. In 1981, Vincent Canby listed Dourif as one of twelve actors to watch, calling Dourif "one of the most intense, most interesting young film actors of his generation".7 Stageedit Though Dourif had not been on stage in nearly three decades, he chose to star alongside Amanda Plummer in the Off-Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play that played to critical acclaim at the New World Stages. He explained, in a filmed interview released by the producers, why he broke his 29-year hiatus from acting in live theater: "I hated the stage, did not want to do it. And then somebody said, 'Will you do a play? It's with Amanda Plummer', and I said, 'Oh shit! No. Oh God, I'm gonna have to do this...'".8 It opened on June 10, 2013 and closed on September 29, 2013.9 The play was subject to a number of performance cancellations, one relating to Dourif's absence, due to a death in the family. Plummer refused to perform without Dourif, notwithstanding the presence of an understudy.10 Film and televisionedit Dourif has often played eccentric or disturbed characters, starting in Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), John Huston's Wise Blood (1979), Forman's Ragtime (1981), andMarc Didden's Istanbul. Dourif then teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune (1984) and Blue Velvet (1986). He also appears in the 1984 music video for the single "Stranger in Town" by Toto. He appeared in a number of horror films, notably as the voice of Chucky in the Chucky franchise. He portrayed the Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (1990), Death Machine (1994), but has broken from the horror genre with roles in Fatal Beauty (1987), Mississippi Burning (1988), Hidden Agenda (1990), and London Kills Me(1991). Dourif also played Gríma Wormtongue in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. On television, Dourif appeared in The X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea" as the psychic serial killer Luther Lee Boggs. He also portrayed Lon Suder in a 3-episode story arc on Star Trek: Voyager and has guest starred as a troubled monk haunted by visions in Babylon 5. In 1984, Dourif played a suspected serial killer in the episode "Number Eight" of Tales of the Unexpected.[citation needed] Dourif was cast as the Scarecrow in Batman Forever while Tim Burton was attached to the project. However, Joel Schumacher eventually took over the project and instead cast Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as the Riddler. Other roles Dourif has played are Doc Cochran in Deadwood, receiving a 2004 Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series." He also appeared in Sinner and portrayed Sheriff Lee Brackett in Halloween and Halloween II. In 2013, Dourif reprised his voice role as Chucky in Curse of Chucky, which has been released to DVD. His daughter Fiona Dourif starred with him in the 6th installment of the Child's Play franchise. He guest starred in the third season finale of Fringe.11 He also had a brief scene in one episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.12 Personal lifeedit Dourif has been married twice. He has one daughter, Fiona, with his former wife Joni, and adopted Joni's daughter, Kristina Dourif Tanoue. Filmographyedit Filmedit Televisionedit Video gamesedit Discographyedit He released an LP called Misery Together in 2012. Dourif contributed spoken words to three songs on this album by the Norwegian duo Thinguma*jigSaw. He was also featured in the video to "Drinking from the Bottle" by Calvin Harris. 13 Referencesedit # Jump up^ # Jump up^ Brad Dourif profile, filmreference.com; accessed February 18, 2015. # Jump up^ # Jump up^ # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b c # Jump up^ # Jump up^ # Jump up^ # Jump up^ 'Two Character Play, starring Amanda Plummer and Brad Dourif, will end run in September', Playbill, 28 August 2013, Andrew Gans. Retrieved 13 October 2013. # Jump up^ Michael Riedel, Diva Amanda Plummer ‘a nightmare’ backstage. New York Post, September 5, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2015. # Jump up^ # Jump up^ # Jump up^ Profile, desertedvillage.bandcamp.com; accessed February 18, 2015. Category:Critters 4 cast